Chris asked:
What are your thoughts on taking extended solos. I don't mean 3 or
four choruses I talking about 20 choruses or more you know going on
for 20 minutes...
Q: Do I like long speaches?
A: Only when they are really interesting.
I think that few artist can keep things interesting for more than a minute
or two, although some can. A good example is the Charlie Parker Jam session
CD. Charlie seemed to have lots of ideas so he could keep things
interesting.
Some of Coltrane's longer solos were really bad and boring. Yeah he could
play the same 4 notes forever without repeating, but you can't say it was
interesting. Some of these tunes (Love supreme) are supposed to be classics,
I don't get it, (if someone can explain what he was doing, I would
appreciate it).
I generally prefer Béla Fleck type jams where a few members interact. Led
Zeppelin are another good example, (See: How the West Was won CD) and of
course there is Freebird which is a classic although the intro sure is long
and boring. But it really makes you want the solo (teasing).
Victor Wooten has some long bass solo that are excellent. Few artist can jam
like he does. Albert Collins' bass player plays a long solo on a tune called
Cold cut which is fantastic. Don't know who the guy is but he is fabulous.
In a sense the longer something is, the higher the probability that it will
be average rather than spectacular.
Do it, but only if you can; if your not inspired on a given night, forget
it.